While an Arctic chill shut things down in Michigan, we headed to the Arctic Circle for comparative warmth. And while Americans continue to unabatedly love SUVs and crossovers, we were in northern Sweden because, to our great joy, Volvo continues to make wagons. Delicious dichotomies.
We flew to Lulea, Sweden, to get behind the wheel of the 2020 Volvo V60 Cross County, a hiked-up wagon for those who want their daily driver to double as a toy in the wild with all-wheel drive, hill descent...
Pop quiz: do you know what they call Thai food in Thailand? Food. Do you what they’ll call electrified cars in an electrified future? Cars. And autonomous cars in an autonomous futur- you get the point.
Recently I was pushed to defend MotorTrend’s take on electric vehicles (EVs) and the burgeoning autonomous car segment. It was a bit awkward and uncomfortable, because I do very much believe that the world is moving in both of these directions and that someday, there will be more electric...
This week, Land Rover added a new special edition to its U.K. lineup. Called the Range Rover Sport HST, it gets carbon-fiber accents on the hood, grille, side vents, and tailgate. Inside, there’s some HST-specific trim and HST badging, which doesn’t sound particularly special. And since the release says nothing about it being offered in the U.S., there’s probably no point in converting its £81,250 base price to dollars. So why would we cover a Europe-only not-so-special edition?...
One day after Amazon saved itself untold millions—or more likely billions—of dollars by cancelling its secondary headquarters in Long Island City, Queens, the online retail giant confirmed it was the leading contributor to a $700 million round of investment in 10-year-old electric truck start-up Rivian.
“We’re inspired by Rivian’s vision for the future of electric transportation,” Amazon Worldwide Consumer CEO Jeff Wilke said in a prepared statement. “RJ [Scaringe, Rivian CEO]...
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is still the best full-size luxury sedan, but considering it has been on sale since the 2014 model year, it’s time for a redesign. From what we’ve heard, it will go on sale next year as a 2020 model, potentially with an SAE Level 3 driver-assistance system. Now, thanks to our spy photographer’s latest shots, we also know it will come with a massive touchscreen.
We actually got our first glimpse at the 2020 S-Class’ cabin last summer. But while we could...
When Ford officially revealed the 2020 Explorer at the Detroit auto show this year, it had some big news. For the first time since the 2011 model year, the Explorer would be built on a rear-wheel-drive platform. It also added a hybrid version and replaced the Sport with the ST. At least on paper, it looked like great news, but we had to wonder how much the new Explorer would actually cost. Thanks to an email from Ford, now we know.
If you want the base Explorer, it will now run you $33,860...
The holiday season may be over, but there are still good deals out there if you’re looking for a new car. This Presidents’ Day Weekend, you can save thousands when buying certain vehicles from Infiniti, Volkswagen, and other automakers.
We gathered data from ALG, a subsidiary of TrueCar, to find the cars that offer the biggest savings. Looking at TrueCar’s TruePrice Average, which is based on what customers paid for similar vehicles in February 2019, we narrowed down to models that saw...
Ford has issued three recalls, the largest of which affects certain F-150 trucks.
2011-13 Ford F-150The Problem: Ford is recalling certain late-model F-150s with six-speed automatic transmissions. Some vehicles can experience an intermittent loss of the transmission output speed sensor to the powertrain control module. These vehicles may unexpectedly downshift into first gear, regardless of vehicle speed. Obviously, this issue could cause drivers to lose control of the vehicle. There have...
Remember the Hyundai Santa Cruz lifestyle pickup concept from the 2015 Detroit auto show? Well ,that was a long time ago, and it no longer looks like that.
The unibody compact truck for young buyers was well-received and the automaker started work on a production model. It was even given the board’s blessing to add it to the product plan for sale in 2018 as a 2019 model. But a sales slump, the ouster of CEO Dave Zuchowski who was its champion, and a focus on other vehicles pushed Santa...
Subaru has fully redesigned the Legacy sedan, but you’d never know it. The model sits on a new platform and features new technologies, but the exterior design changes are pretty minimal. That’s not surprising given Subaru’s conservative attitude toward vehicle styling. The question is: Is the subtle approach effective or not? Let’s take a closer look at the design updates on the 2020 Subaru Legacy.
Up front, the headlights look smaller, although very similar to the old design. There...
Money no object, which would you choose: the Porsche 911 GT2 RS, or the 911 GT3 Touring? Turbo and PDK versus naturally aspirated and six-speed stick shift; two different solutions to the same challenge, each quintessentially 911. In truth, there’s no wrong answer here. But, like medieval scholars arguing over angels dancing on the head of a pin, it’s something on which few enthusiasts would choose not have an opinion. Here’s mine …
The GT2 RS is the alpha-dog of the 911 lineup,...
The 2020 Sonata will not be instantly recognizable as a Hyundai, but it is designed to be a head-turner and create buzz similar to the impact of the 2011 Sonata, says SangYup Lee, head of the Hyundai Global Design Center in Namyang, Korea.
The next-generation Sonata is one of 13 new vehicles coming this year for the Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis brands. It will be on display at the New York auto show in April with production set to begin soon.
This is an important year as Hyundai works to...
Ever since Toyota introduced the 207-hp Yaris GRMN in Europe and launched the GR performance sub-brand in Japan, we’ve heard rumors that GR could find its way into the U.S. in some form. Toyota’s decision to officially call the Supra the GR Supra only added fuel to the rumor mill. In fact, following the Detroit auto show, we heard that TRD might even go away and be completely replaced by GR. But thanks to a conversation we had at the Chicago auto show, we can confirm that TRD is here to...
Kia is slowly filling gaps in its SUV lineup. It just debuted the large Telluride, and now it’s getting ready to introduce a new crossover on the opposite end of the spectrum. Our spy photographers caught this small Kia playing in the snow.
Our sources say this vehicle is based on the SP Concept that Kia debuted last year at AutoExpo in India. With this information, we can connect the dots further. Han-Woo Park, Kia Motors Corp. CEO, told Automotive News that a small crossover based on the...
The Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 was already an off-road beast. Not only did it handle the Trans-Labrador Highway with ease, it beat out the Ford F-150 Raptor and gave the Ram PowerWagon a serious run for its money. Instead of stopping there, Chevrolet collaborated with AEV and created an even more capable version called the Colorado ZR2 Bison. But with a $48,000 price tag, could there really be much demand for a factory overland-capable truck? Turns out, absolutely.
GM Authority reports that...
Reuters reports that based on estimates provided by the National Safety Council, traffic deaths in the U.S. topped 40,000 last year. That would make 2018 the third year in a row with traffic deaths above that mark, according to the nonprofit organization. And while the good news is that the NSC estimates there were 231 fewer deaths than in 2017, a decrease of about 1 percent, those figures are 14 percent higher than they were back in 2014. An additional 4.5 million people were seriously...
A couple of weeks ago, a photo surfaced showing a Ford F-150 equipped with a fastback-like bed cap, complete with window louvers. We first saw it on Twitter, but apparently, it had been making the rounds on Facebook and forums before that. Was it someone’s custom one-off or something you could buy? Was it kind of cool or completely horrible? At the very least it was interesting.
Eventually, The Drive figured out that these are real bed caps you can actually buy. They’re built by a shop...
At the Geneva Motor Show, Honda will debut a prototype version of an electric vehicle that will go on sale later this year. And here’s a sneak peek at the interior.
This teaser image shows off a large screen that expands across the dashboard. It appears Honda is taking a cue from Mercedes, which offers a large display that merges the instrument cluster and infotainment system together. However, this screen appears to have not two, but three displays, with controls for navigation, a...
Could Rivian Automotive become the next Tesla? General Motors and Amazon may think so. According to Reuters, those two corporate giants are reported to be in talks to invest in Rivian, the 10-year-old electric-vehicle company that unveiled its first vehicles, the R1T full-size pickup truck and R1S SUV, at the Los Angeles auto show last November.
GM, through a spokesperson, responded to our request for comment with just this: “We admire Rivian’s contribution to a future of zero emissions...
If you want a car that’s small, light, and fun to drive, a Mini Cooper is a great choice. But if you want power, Mini doesn’t have a lot to offer. Even the $32,750 John Cooper Works Hardtop only makes 228 hp. But when the newest high-performance Mini finally goes on sale next year, it will make some very Honda Civic Type R-like power.
Yes, BMW announced that the next John Cooper Works GP will make more than 300 hp. That’s nearly twice as much power as the last Mini JCW GP made back in...